HealthDay (3/25, Pallarito) reported that research suggests kids “with severe psychiatric problems often have lengthy waits before they’re transferred from a hospital emergency department to a psychiatric hospital due to insurance companies’ ‘prior authorization’ requirements.” Investigators looked at data on more than 200 patients. The researchers found that “mental health workers at one Rhode Island hospital spent an average of an hour on the telephone seeking insurance companies’ approval.” However, insurers eventually approved all of the admissions, which “suggests that prior authorization appears to serve ‘more as an administrative hurdle,’ the study authors wrote.”
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The AP (3/25, Pane, Swanson) reported that 62% of Americans “said that at least one type of substance use was a serious problem in their communities,” while 43% “said they have a relative or close friend with substance abuse issues,” according to a survey by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. The AP described the survey results as demonstrating “a feeling that drugs are a pervasive problem, with many seeing friends or relatives ravaged by drugs and believing that treatment options need to be improved for addicts while punishment needs to be fierce for dealers.”

Related Links:

— “AP-NORC POLL: MOST AMERICANS SEE DRUGS AS A BIG PROBLEM,” Lisa marie Pane and Emily Swanson, Associated Press, March 25, 2016.

Medscape (3/24, Brooks) reports, “National guidelines encourage emergency department (ED) physicians to ask suicidal patients whether they have access to guns or other lethal means of ending their lives, but only about half do ask,” the findings of a study published online March 17 in Depression and Anxiety suggest. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after interviewing “1,358 patients from eight EDs in seven states” who “had experienced suicidal ideation or had attempted suicide.” Funding for the study came from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (3/24, Mozes) reports, “The more time young adults spend using popular social media, the greater the link to depression,” the findings of a 1,800-participant study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the April 1 issue of the journal Depression and Anxiety suggest. Researchers found that “when social media patterns were stacked up against depression status…those who used social media the most were about 2.7 times more likely to be depressed than those who used such forums the least.”

Related Links:

— “Could Lots of Time Spent on Social Media Be Tied to Depression?,” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, March 24, 2016.

The New York Times (3/23, B9, Belson, Subscription Publication) reported that “with the expectation that more N.F.L. players will suffer dementia from repeated head hits, businesses that cater to people with memory loss are gearing up for what could be droves of new clients in the near future.” The article notes that “an actuarial report commissioned by the N.F.L. found that 28 percent of all players would be found to have one of the compensable diseases included in a settlement with retired players who had accused the league of hiding from them the dangers of concussions.” Among the diseases were Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Related Links:

— “Dementia Care, Tailored to N.F.L. Retirees,” Ken Belson, New York Times, March 22, 2016.